StormRoyale

Nine months ago I was 270lbs with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and borderline diabetes.

As of today, I've reached my original goal weight of 170lbs. Last time I was under 200lbs was... 20 years ago?

I've had 2 fills totaling 6cc into a 14cc band. I've always had very little restriction. Nothing has ever gotten stuck and I can eat about 4 cups in 10 minutes.

I truly believe that my surgery saved my life! It took having surgery to finally get that elusive something to click in my head that I had to change my eating habits.

While I don't think that the Lap-Band is for everyone... (***I recommend most people I know to get a by-pass instead***) I'm so happy I got one!

My new goal: loose 10 lbs of body fat and gain 15 pounds of muscle.

***From my experience, success with the Lap-Band is 80% willpower and 20% band. Whereas the people that I know who have gotten the by-pass: 80% by-pass and 20% willpower. With a by-pass you CAN'T over-eat and must avoid high sugar foods. With the lap-band, I can eat everything and must monitor myself.

Howdy y'all

I'm having a bit of a conundrum. I use to lose weight each week eating 1200 Calories a day... then I plateaued. So I dropped downed to 1000 Calories a day and began losing again. When I plateaued again, I started eating 800 Calories and began to lose weight again. When I try bringing my Calories back up to 1000 a day, I re-enter my plateau. The writing on the wall is telling me that I'm going to eventually plateau again eating 800 Calories a day and I don't want to drop down to 600 to start losing again. Any advice?

I lose about 2 pounds a week at 1000 calories and 100-150 grams of Protein.< /p>

Howdy y'all,

I'm scheduled to get my first fill this Friday. My band was installed EMPTY of July 1st and I've lost just over 30lbs since my surgery.

I'm eating 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of food 4 times a days... which adds up to 1000 Calories.

The good news is that the portion size that I'm eating right now leaves me FULL.

The bad news is that it only last an hour and a half; 2 hours at the most. I'm then hungry for the next 2 hours until I can eat again.

My concern is that if I get a fill, my portion size that I can eat will get smaller. I'm very happy with my portions right now and I'm afraid that if they got smaller, I'll have trouble getting 1000 Calories in each day. (Any less than 1000 puts me into starvation mode.)

I know I have no restriction right now. (I've accidentally swallowed very large pieces of food on several occasions and have had no discomfort or issues.) And I like having that safety net of having a loose band just in case I forget to chew... But I'm tried for being hungry half the time.

There's also the knowledge that most people don't fill restriction until their 4th fill swimming around in my head. If I DO pass on getting a fill and get it later when I feel like I desperately need it... That first fill probably won't do anything for me and I'll then be waiting for the next 3 fills before I feel restriction! Aurgh! What to do?!

@Isa Bella

My doc said that I could eat normally before I go in for my fills... just not to stuff myself.

My surgeon also has an in-office nutritionist and both gave me the same diet:

Eat at least 100g of Protein a day... 150g if it's not filling you up.

Eat three to five, 1/2 cup meals throughout the day. Try not to eat more than 3/4 of a cup at any one time.

I wasn't given a calorie limit, but I limit myself to 1000 a day. (50-65% Protein and the rest is usually divided evenly between carbs and fats.)

I am utterly amazed how anyone can blindly decide on and get a life altering surgery without doing any research beforehand. I researched for a year before deciding that any WLS was for me. And then another year during my approval process to decide on the Lap-Band®.

Before I even buy a microwave, I'll read tons of reviews and opinions before deciding on a make and model. The Internet is my friend.

I knew before hand all the 'worst case scenarios' and the odds of any of the lap-band cons happening to me. I also knew the odds of the 'best case scenarios' too. The lap-band is a tool and works well when used correctly, just as is can be a nightmare when used incorrectly. (Use a car correctly and you can travel in safety all over... use it incorrectly and you can kill yourself and everyone else in your way.)

Sorry for the rant, but ignorance infuriates me.

I've tried quite a few of the main brands that everyone usually recommends and didn't like any of them. The only one that I like is Myoplex Original Powder, by EAS with 42 grams of Protein per packet.

I get the vanilla flavored one and mix it with 1/4 of a box of Jell-o sugar-free vanilla pudding (25 calories) and Water. It doesn't get quite as thick as a regular pudding because I'm using water, but it's easier to eat a pudding a day rather than trying to force down a thick shake.< /p>

Here's an FYI for you, so you don't make the same assumptions that I did... unflavored protein powders do not mean it is tasteless! It just means that their not adding anything to try and mask the awful taste.:party:

Buy samplers first!

I had my surgery on the same day as you and my doc won't give me my first fill until Sept 1st. When I asked why she waits so long, she said she want to absolutely make sure that all the swelling has gone down.

I also couldn't help but notice that you and I have also lost the same amount of weight thus far!:tongue2: We should totally become lap-band buddies.

Edit: OMG! I also just saw that you're also in Sacramento! Dr. Machado?

My husband (who's a physician) said that it doesn't matter what you rub on your scars... it's the rubbing of the scars themselves that causes your body to send more cells to the area, increasing the healing efficiency and in turn... lessening the appearance of the scar.

I probably look like an idiot walking around rubbing my belly all the time, but hey... whatever works!:wub:

I'm a month out and I'm still only able to eat about half a cup before I'm full.

The other day I ate an entire chicken breast and thought I was gonna pop! I am so thrilled that this is my bandster hell.:rolleyes2:

For those of you with restriction... are you able to swallow pills?

My PCP just put me on a new gelcap pill that's a little on the larger size. It is not a normal gelcap though... it's seamless and the outer gel coating is quite thick.

I'm pretty sure that it would be a pain in the butt to cut open and I'd probably get it's contents everywhere.

It's about 3/4 the thickness of a pencil eraser and 3/4 of an inch long. Do you think you'd have problems getting it past your band?

If you cook with a Protein powder, do you still get the same amount of protein or does some of it get broken down from the heat?

I was banded 22 days ago and the first day I would say was a 3. I took the liquid pain meds that I was given in the hospital before I was release. Didn't need any the rest of the day. On the second day I took another dose even though I would have only given my pain level a 2. (I was afraid that it was going to get worse.) Those were the only 2 times I took the pain meds.

My only pain and been discomfort around my port area and it's finally getting to the point where I don't notice it anymore. Most of my discomfort is at bedtime while I'm trying to roll around and get comfortable.

This was also my first surgery ever... I was terrified!:biggrin:

Are you already experiencing some hair loss, or are you just trying to avoid it? Just curious... I started losing hair about 2 or 3 months out.

I'm not losing any yet.... and I'd like to keep it that way.:sad:

I'm definitely going to give the Syntrax a try. I found a place online that sells single serving packets.

For those of you who are able to eat solids: do you still drink Protein shakes or do you find that you can get all your protein from the food you eat?

Howdy y'all, it's me again.

Banded on July 1st and feeling frustrated. Even with an empty band, I feel quite a bit of restriction and I am only able to eat 3-4oz at a time... which is good.

My frustration lies with getting enough Protein and Water in each day. I've tried quite a few different protein powders and the only one that I can stomach is EAS Myoplex 42g powder. Unfortunately, the Myoplex makes a very thick pudding like consistency (about 12-16oz). It's so heavy that I can only eat a teaspoon or 2 per hour and its too thick to enjoy. It's a chore to eat. If I thin it down to the consistency of a shake (which still requires a spoon to eat), it's more palatable, but ends up making about 32oz. It ends up taking the entire day for me to eat and I'm constantly feeling like I have a lead weight in my stomach, so I'm not able to drink much water.

And to top it all off, forcing down that 1 Protein Drink only ends up giving me 42g of protein and my doc wants me to get 80g a day! GHAA!:sad: So frustrated! All I keep thinking is "I'm gonna lose all my hair and get that waisted-away look because I'm not getting enough protein in." I'm sick of eating nothing but this Protein Shake day in and day out, but what's the alternative? :wink2:

P.S.- I've tried several of the liquid Protein brands, such as Isopure, but even the "unflavored" makes me gag and want to retch.

Howdy y'all

I was banded on July 1 and I'm just starting my second week of mushies...

Does anyone else feel discomfort (not pain) when bending over or when doing a movement that resembles a sit-up? (Not that I'm actually doing sit-ups, but when I have to sit-up from laying down.)

It feels like my port is getting pushed under my lowest rib and it's not comfortable.

My port also feels like it's gonna pop out if I twist my body too far when laying down... Do these feelings ever go away?

Howdy y'all.

So I'm a new bandster, having joined the club on July 1st.

My first 2 days were hard. I was dying of thirst, but could not drink more than 2-3 cups of Water per day. I could have a Lima Bean sized sip every 3 minutes or so. Worst cotton-mouth of my life! I was waking up constantly throughout the night because I was so parched, only to be able to get that tiny sip in before passing out again.

Day 3 is when things started turning around for me. I was finally feeling hydrated and able to stomach some broth.< /p>

Day 4... I'm actually feeling hungry!

Today, at day 5... easily able to drink my 8 cups of water, getting my Protein Shake in and some liquid Soups.< /p>

Here's where things get interesting...

When I get hungry, I go from 0 to famished in zero second flat. After 2 teaspoons of Soup (yes, TEASPOONS!!!) my hunger is gone, but I'm not full. I wait a few minutes and take another 2 teaspoons... and so on and so on over the next 20 minutes or so. Then just as intensely as my hunger started, the feeling of 'OMG, I've eaten waaaaaay too much' hits me.

At no point during my 2 teaspoon routine did I even get the inkling that I was starting to get full.

What I've learned is that I need resting periods during my meals. Eat slowly, taking small breaks between bites/sips, but then stopping for at least 10 minutes halfway to 3/4 of the way through my meal to give my body enough time to tell me that it's full.

In hindsight, this is a prime example of how I got fat in the first place. It was always a race to the bottom of the bowl only to realize 15 minutes afterward that I was sickeningly full.

So to all the newbies that come after me... don't assume that just because you're eating slowly you'll know when you're full! You may not know how full you really are until you're done eating!

My problem is that I can't tell if I've drank too much too fast or if that's just the normal pain and soreness from the surgery.

For the most part, my tummy feels like I just did 1000 crunches. The only localized pain I feel where my port is.

Howdy y'all

Newly banded this morning and I have a few questions.

How big should my sips be and how can I tell when I'm "full"?

My stomach is sore and feels like I've been hit with a spiked baseball bat.

I've been slowly nursing all day the same 16oz bottle of Crystal Lite that they gave me in the hospital.

My sips are about the equivalent of a teaspoon... sometimes a tablespoon and I give myself a good 3-5 minutes between sips.

Am I being overly cautious?

Thanks for the advice!